Stephen Mansfield - Ten Signs of a Leadership Crash

Also by Stephen Mansfield

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Then Darkness Fled:
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Forgotten Founding Father:
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The Faith of George W. Bush

The Faith of the American Soldier

Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission

The Faith of Barack Obama

The Search for God and Guinness

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2017 by Stephen Mansfield

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means except for brief quotations in reviews or articles, without the written permission of the publisher.

Author photograph: Isaac Darnall

Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Blackwatch Digital

ISBN: 978-0-9977647-3-4 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-9977647-4-1 (ebook)

Foreword

by Dave Ramsey
Radio Host and Bestselling Author

Even though it happened two decades ago, it feels like only yesterday.

I was sitting in my recreation room, looking into the eyes of the young pastor across from me. Yet those eyes let me know that he wasnt grasping what I was saying. His vacant stare told me that he was hearing my words , but not my heart .

That was frustratingand painful.

You see, this young man was an incredible communicator. Over the years, Ive been blessed to share the stage with some world-class speakers, both in the mainstream and in the Christian world. This young man didnt take a backseat to any of them. He had a God-given gift for explaining an idea so people could understand it. He could take a story, mix in just the right amount of humor, and lift listeners to new heights. Whats more, his natural talents were refined through hours of hard work.

Like I said, he was world class.

If I mentioned his name today, you wouldnt recognize it. There was a time, though, when he had the potential to become his generations Billy Graham. I told him as much, but I also told him that he needed to make some changes. He had mastered his craft, but he had never mastered his character.

And that was a problem.

If and only if you deal with these leadership and personal behavior blind spots will you be the person and leader I can see you becoming, I said.

He didnt hear me. For whatever reason, he couldnt hear me.

So, the damage continued to escalate. Eventually, after a string of lost positions, two broken marriages, a bankrupt church, and countless other embarrassments, he simply wandered off into obscurity. Now, hes just a cautionary tale.

Thankfully, Ive had the chance to count many great leaders in the business world and in ministry as dear friends. Those relationships have been a true blessing to my life. Yet too many times, my joy has been offset by watching one of them hit the wall and blow up. In the blink of an eye, all they wereand all they could have beenhas burned to the ground.

Unfortunately, whenever a leader crumbles, its never just a personal or individual problem. Many more lives end up being devastated by the leadership failure. We have all seen the carnage. In some cases, weve been part of the carnage. The story of this young, talented pastor serves as just one illustration of what you and I have seen so many times.

Looking back, I realize that I was trying to convince him to address several of the points made in the book youre holding right now. Thats because my friend, Stephen Mansfield, has had his own front row seat for far too many crashes. Hes also worked hard to keep other leaders from skidding off the tracks. That passion and experience make him uniquely qualified to address this topic honestly and intelligently.

When I first read this material, my heart started cheering. Its encouraging to remember that crashes dont have to happen. We just need to watch for the signs in our own leadership lives and the leadership lives of those close to us.

Practical, clear teachinglike what Stephen provides in this bookis the only way to ensure that those of us in leadership maximize our potential and avoid landing on the junk heap of broken lives and careers. The ten signs he identifies arent easy or comfortable to think about, but they are personal, clear, and correct. Whats more, you can use them to spark great discussions with your own leadership team as you strive to hold each other accountable.

Stephen has given you a tremendous gift that youll thank him for over and over again. This book is going to make a difference, and its going to make a difference for leaders the world over.

Introduction

Why do leaders crash?

Im not asking why they fail. The answer to that question has to do with how they lead, what gifts they have, and whether they were ever in the right position to begin with.

No, Im asking why leaders crash.

Why does the congressman blow up a promising political career with an affair? Why does the CEO lose a position that could have netted him millions of dollars by mishandling a hundred thousand dollars? Why does the NBA star with an adoring, beautiful wife have a clumsy sexual episode with the room-service girl? Why is the respected governor of a state found in the mountains of a foreign country hiding from the fallout over news hes been having an affair? Why does the revered NFL quarterback forever damage his reputation by texting photos of his private parts to a woman who doesnt want to see them? And a thousand more. Why?

A large portion of my lifes work has centered upon the answers to these questions. This started during my twenty-year career as a pastor. Several of the leaders on my staff at that time had major moral collapses and, along with the rest of my wonderful team, I helped these leaders rebuild. Then we restored them to their roles. Word spread that we did this pretty well. Other churches, and soon other types of organizations, called to ask for our help. Before long I found myself consulting with private firms, churches, the families of the famous, and even the staffs of congressmen and senators.

What each of these wanted was someone who could fix the damage. They wanted to recover after the pastor misbehaved or the CEO resigned over what he did to the intern or the NFL coach blew it with alcohol or the rock star flipped out.

I liked helping them all. I should say, too, that we were very successful. Aside from what expertise we might have in this field, it helped that people called us because they were in desperate circumstances. They were hurting and eager for help. This meant they cooperated with us. They invested. They healed. Better days came for them. It was gratifying, and we are still seeing huge success in this unusual work.

However, a day came when I realized something very valuable. I realized it because of what I had heard over and over again during the hours of discussion I conducted about crashed leaders. In nearly every case, I heard the same statements from those who surrounded the fallenfrom wives and husbands and children and best friends and associates.

All of them told me after the crash that there were signs of what was coming they hadnt been able to see before the crash. I see it so clearly now, they would say. How could I have missed it? I wish I had said something. They would sometimes stand in my office in clusters and agree that they had all seen the same signs of trouble, but none of them had known what to do.